Mobile marketing is witnessing a dramatic change. Not only can we expect to see tremendous growth over the next five years, we can expect to see companies this year continue to find innovative ways to leverage the channel. As the sales of smartphones and tablets continue to rise, it seems there's no end in sight to the popularity of these devices. This translates into nothing but opportunity for brands, marketers, publishers and advertisers.

Mobile search will become a more prominent topic as brands decide to shift budget to this channel. Search marketing has been around since the late 90s in some form or fashion, but today's landscape is much more complex. Now advertisers have a number of products, tactics and resources at their disposal. One tactic that's underused is mobile search. Mobile search offers the unique opportunity to connect with consumers at the moment of interest, at different times and in a geographically relevant fashion. This is an incredible opportunity that companies are just not taking advantage of.

Mobile search can be used to target users by device, location and, of course, ad and keyword. Furthermore, if the phone is important to your business, click-to-call can truly drive customers directly to you. Google has created special interactive display ad units that help you stand out even more from your competition. Tie this all together with smart analytics review, and you get a clear picture of what's working and what's not. Use the findings to reallocate your budget and increase your return on investment.

As companies begin to take fuller advantage of mobile marketing options, they need to ensure they're ready for the traffic. Surprisingly, some very large, very well-known companies lack a mobile website. Not a mobile-friendly site that renders properly and requires you to zoom in, but a website built exclusively for mobile devices. The user experience on tablets and smartphones is very different. Aside from the obvious screen size differences, the way users navigate and the places they use smartphones require a dedicated approach.

If your company doesn't have a mobile site, now is the time to create one. You don't want to put tremendous effort into your main site only to have a poor mobile experience and lose traffic. The fact is that mobile traffic is on the rise. According to Adobe, mobile traffic rose 100 percent as a percentage of all search in 2012 and comprises 20 percent of all retail clicks. The data supports the need to adapt to the "new mobile customer." Take into consideration that the experience is very different on an iPhone versus an iPad. Take the time to give this proper attention and your bottom line will thank you.